Border suggestions appreciated.

I can't get the photo facility to work but this link should take you to my blog where I have posted about my front garden.

http://mrsnesbittsspace.blogspot.co.uk/

Basically I want to plant some plants in the borders under the hedge - am currently clearing out the endless weeds and want to create something nice. Once the dead ornamental cherry tree goes we will need something else - any ideas please?

You need to visit gardens that are open to the public or parks for Ideas and inspiration . Books too will give you an idea what you can grow and how. Make a plan on paper and consider what effect you want and the type of flowers you like. Borders are best if they have a wide and depth to it and a good mix of heights plus background (is it fence or wall at the back).Ford Abbey for me was a real inspiration which I hope to adopt on a smaller scale.

good advice there from Flowering Rose - there are so many plants to choose from it is worth having a good look around and planning. Right plant, right place is definitely the thing to bear in mind! or you can do as I did when I took on my garden - spend a year or so buying things on a whim and watching in despair when they dwindled and died in the conditions they were growing in! after a while, I learnt to choose what would survive (London clay, shaded for most of the day by houses/ trees in summer, plagued by molluscs, but rarely frosted). There are still lots of lovely things to choose from but borders full of jolly summer annuals aren't really possible! The good thing about a garden is that any wrong decisions can usually be remedied (eventually!) but it can be expensive learning from your mistakes so do take some time to plan. Best time to get planting is coming up in Autumn, but you have time to look around and maybe choose a few key things to get in before winter .

It's also good advice to make the border as wide as possible so that you are not planting too close to the hedge - the hedge itself will suck up an awful lot of moisture from the soil so try not to plant right up next to it and incorporate several barrelfuls of muck before planting anything! Good luck.